Roulette, blackjack, poker and craps are the backbone of any casino, whether land based or online. But players need fringe games in order to break the monotony and refresh themselves. At one time slots were the only option. But now with the proliferation of the gaming industry new games are being created for this purpose. One such game is “Let it ride”.
The game is played on a semi circular table with the dealer on the flat side and the players on the circular side. Each player places three equal bets at the start of the game. Then three cards are dealt face down to each player and three to the dealer. The dealer discards one of his cards and the remaining two cards act as community cards.
The aim of Let it ride is to ascertain how good a poker hand is made from the player’s three cards and the two community cards. After a player sees his cards he has the option of withdrawing one of his bets or letting them all ride. Once all the players have made their moves the dealer turns one of his cards face up. Now each player knows four of the five cards that will make up his final hand. It is time for him to make the next call. If his hand appears weak he can withdraw one of his bets, irrespective of the action taken in the first move. If his hand appears strong then he can let his remaining bets ride. At the end of this round players will have one, two or all their bets on the table. The dealer now turns his second card face up. Simultaneously the players turn their cards face up. Each of the bets on the table is paid out as per a predefined payout schedule.
Players who have less than a pair of tens lose all bets that are still on the table. The remaining players are paid out at the following odds for each of their bets on the table. Tens or better is paid out at 1:1; two pairs is paid out at 2:1; three of a kind is paid out at 3:1; straight is paid out at 5:1; flush is paid out at 8:1; full house is paid out at 11:1; four of a kind is paid out at 50:1; straight flush is paid out at 200:1; and royal flush is paid out at 1000:1. There is a special attraction as well. For a dollar side bet a player drawing a royal flush is given free entry to one of the million dollar tournaments, though there are few takers for this.
Let it ride is a mixture of games. It is played on a blackjack like table but functions as poker. The players are called upon to make intermediate decisions, which is a very important factor for gambling games today. Yet the strategy is simple and so the game helps to unwind the tensions of playing blackjack or poker for long periods.
